Recent trends of private consumption in Italy and estimates of probable modifications in its pattern for the years 1965 and 1970

Abstract

In the post-war period Italy enjoyed remarkable growth, which stimulated a rapid increase in per capital consumption expenditure, one of the highest in the Western world. In the present stage of development, the Italian economy has begun to experience the process of substantial change in the pattern of consumption expenditure that had already taken place in industrialized countries some 50-70 years before it. If the national income continues growing steadily, this process should gradually acquire momentum in future years. The present study provides some estimates of the probable evolution of demand for private consumption in the next decade, taking into account the influence of the level of income on the pattern of demand itself.

JEL: E21, E24